Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 095-0760

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Public Act 095-0760

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Public Act 0760 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Public Act 095-0760

HB4567 Enrolled LRB095 17794 RAS 43873 b

    AN ACT concerning education.

    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
amended by changing Section 25 as follows:

    (110 ILCS 947/25)
    Sec. 25. State scholar program.
    (a) An applicant is eligible to be designated a State
Scholar when the Commission finds the candidate:
        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
    permanent resident of the United States;
        (2) has successfully completed the program of
    instruction at an approved high school, or is a student in
    good standing at such a school and is engaged in a program
    which in due course will be completed by the end of the
    academic year, and in either event that the candidate's
    academic standing is above the class median; and that the
    candidate has not had any university, college, normal
    school, private junior college or public community
    college, or other advanced training subsequent to
    graduation from high school; and
        (3) has superior capacity to profit by a higher
    education.
    (b) In determining an applicant's superior capacity to
profit by a higher education, the Commission shall consider the
candidate's scholastic record in high school and the results of
the examination conducted under the provisions of this Act. The
Commission shall establish by rule the minimum conditions of
eligibility in terms of the foregoing factors, and the relative
weight to be accorded to those factors.
    (c) The Commission shall base its State Scholar
designations upon the eligibility formula prescribed in its
rules, except that notwithstanding those rules or any other
provision of this Section, a student nominated by his or her
school shall be designated a State Scholar if that student
achieves an Illinois Standard Test Score at or above the 95th
percentile among students taking the designated examinations
in Illinois that year, as determined by the Commission.
    (d) The Commission shall obtain the results of a
competitive examination from the applicants~~this Act~~. The
examination shall provide a measure of each candidate's ability
to perform college work and shall have demonstrated utility in
such a selection program. The Commission shall select, and
designate by rule, the specific examinations to be used in
determining the applicant's superior capacity to profit from a
higher education. Candidates may be asked by the Commission to
take those steps necessary to provide results of the designated
examination as part of their applications. Any nominal cost of
obtaining or providing the examination results shall be paid by
the candidate to the agency designated by the Commission to
provide the examination service. In the event that a candidate
or candidates are unable to participate in the examination for
financial reasons, the Commission may choose to pay the
examination fee on the candidate's or candidates' behalf. Any
notary fee which may also be required as part of the total
application shall be paid by the applicant.
    (e) The Commission shall award to each State Scholar a
certificate or other suitable form of recognition. The decision
to attend a non-qualified institution of higher learning shall
not disqualify applicants who are otherwise fully qualified.
    (f) The Commission shall conduct a study detailing all of
the following information:
        (1) The number of students designated State Scholars in
    2008 and 2009.
        (2) The number of State Scholars who applied to State
    universities in 2008 and 2009.
        (3) The number of State Scholars who were denied
    admittance into the State universities to which they
    applied in 2008 and 2009.
    All data collected from a State university in regards to
the study conducted under this subsection (f) must be verified
by that university.
    On or before January 1, 2010, the Commission must submit a
report to the General Assembly that contains the findings of
the study conducted under this subsection (f) and the
Commission's recommendations on how to make State universities
more accessible to State Scholars.
(Source: P.A. 87-997.)

    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/28/2008

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